Sprinkle Pancakes

A few years ago I was at a party talking to a bunch of moms about what our kids eat for breakfast. I don't remember my contribution to the conversation, but I must have complained about how much sugar is in syrup and how much syrup my daughter would use (this was before she used a fork regularly, so we let her dip. You can figure how that would go.) During the course of our conversation, someone mentioned putting sprinkles in their pancakes, thus making them "special" so they "wouldn't need syrup". Genius, I tell you. I went home and tried it the next day, and it worked. This was when Jordan was a young 3, so she just went along with it for over a year. We went syrup free until she discovered she could ask for it, but by then she was proficient enough with her fork that I'd just pour the teeniest amount of syrup on, instead of having her dip. So, now when I make pancakes, it's prefaced with "sprinkles or syrup?"

I used to make my pancakes with a mix, either Bisquick or Krusteaz. Then one day a friend of mine gave me a recipe for Fat Lady Pancakes (I guess that's from Harry Potter?) I'd never made pancakes from scratch, and they were awesome. I'll have to post that recipe sometime. Those. Are. Dangerous.

Anyway, this recipe is from Food Network Magazine. It's just a basic recipe, and you could do lots of things with it, not just add sprinkles. I've made them plain (and used syrup), added chocolate chips, nuts. I think the addition of the dash of vanilla makes these some of the best. I don't even use syrup on the plain ones; I just eat them straight off the griddle. Something about that vanilla makes them almost taste like a cupcake. So good!

I figured this would be a good Friday post, just in time for the weekend. And, it makes a lot of pancakes (about 15). Since only my daughter and I eat them, I freeze a lot for during the week. Not having to make pancakes from scratch on a school day at 6:30 AM makes me a happy Momma! (Of course, if your family is larger, double the recipe for freezable leftovers.)

Oh, and the dog loves them too. :)

Enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sprinkle Pancakes

Printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk (I use nonfat)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

Dash of vanilla (probably about 1/4 teaspoon)

2-3 Tablespoons of sprinkles (FYI, nonpareils will just dissolve and color your batter, as will colored sugars. It's best to use regular sprinkles)

If you're using a griddle, begin to preheat. I use an electric one and I set it for about 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Then whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Add your sprinkles and stir. (A great thing for the kids to do!)

Spray your griddle with nonstick cooking spray, or use butter to grease it. (I've used both, depends on my mood.) Ladle the pancakes one by one onto the griddle and cook until bubbly. Flip and cook until golden on the bottom.

Try not to eat them all at once. And share with the dog, if she so insists.

Yield: about 15 pancakes. They freeze well!

Source: adapted from Food Network Magazine

Printed from CrazyforCrust